Knockdown bent wood furniture



June 1953 N. M. KRElZ ELMAN KNOCKDOWN BENT woon FURNITURE Filed May 4,1951 IIYVENTOR. Norman M. Krezzelman if fan/var Patented June 2, 1953UNITED STATES PATENT ossics nnoonn'ownnnn'r woon Norman M. Kreizelman,Martini; N. Y;

.ipplioation 4-; 1951, SeriaI Nc.2I24,621

This invention relates generally tok nock down furniture; and, inparticular, to articles having legs, such as. chairs: and chair frames.

' The general object of the inventio-n is to provide a novel, easilyfabricated, and durable structure for a lrnocl: clown article offurniture of the class described. The invention contemplates astructure-which may bereadily assembled and disassembled, andwhi'ch,"when knooked down, requires but little storage shipping space.-Basical-Iy the structure comprisebut three structural elements, suitablyjoined together, as by screws; and provides a main frame having fourstrong legs, which may be designed as acomplete chair or as a frameespecially usefulin the manufacture 0r chairs.

i l-particular object-of the invention is to provide a chair or chairframeof" the knock downtype having but three basic structural elements,each thereof being a single unitary-piece of molded plywood made ofmultiple ply sheet stock bonded together with a suitable resin. Theseelements are adapted to bejoined together to form a" sturdy structure byas" few as four screws. An advantage of the invention i'sthe ease withwhich its few structural el'en'ierlt's'- may be assembled by unskilledpersons.

These and further obiects ancr advantages of the invention will bemorefullyunderstoodfrom the following detailed description and from" thedrawing, in wh'ichi Fig. 1 is a perspective-viewof'a chair frameconstructed according to" the invention;

Fig; 2 is a bottom plan view-of the'chair frame;

structedaccordin'g' to the invention;

Fig. 4" comprises bracketed side' elevational views'of' theflth'reestructuralelements of the chair frame of'Fig; 1', these also being thebasic elements of'thechair'of Fig. 3}.

Fig. 5 is. a perspective detail illustrating the manner. in which theleg. forming. elements "of the basic structure are'joine'd;.'an'd N Fig.fi conipri'ses bracketed enlargedLn-agmem tarydetails of twoof"theelenieiitsshown'in Fig. 4.

The structure ofthe invention comprises essentially an article offurniture; or name therefor, formed oftwo crossedu-shaped' moldedplywood elements each havingv a'stra'ight intermediate portion with'theseportions-oppositely'rabbet edwhereby these elementsmaybe fittedtogether to provide an x shaped platform" having flush upper and lower'surface's and supper-r as by legs; by the extremities o'f tli elementsi f and a:-

3' Claims. (01. 155-193) 2 third" molded plywood eleriient' de'taohablyse-" cured; to the platform and thereby rigidly tying thestructure-together to form a sturdy construction.

As a-chai-i" or a-chair frame'the U-shaped' elements constitute,together, four legs and a' mount for the third element which may be not"only a means for tying the structure together. but may also serve as-aseat, an integral seat and back-rest, or asabracket for a back rest tobemounted thereon. V, 7

The chairframe shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is typical Qf this structure. Theframe shown here" is--a1so that-employed inthe chair of Fig. 3;

The chair frameof'Figs: 1- and; 2 comprisesthe three elements shownseparately in side elevation in Fig. 4. These elements are all made ofmolded plywood sheet stock; with the curved portions fiatwisewithrespect" to the plies; and preferably each element" is formed of sheetstock having an oddnumber of plies with thegrairr of the-plies beingsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the element. See Fig.6; in which-portions of two of the'eler'n'ents of Fig. 4- areshow-nsomewhat enlarged sothat the dispositionofthe plies-withrespect to amolded curve may be seen; For clarity the plies are not indicated infigures other than the-detailed Figures-:5- and-6z V g Two oftheelements-of, F-ig. 4', designated" 0 andz'l l are'seen tube u-shaped, eachhavingan intermediate straight portion l2. and depending an'd'slantingextremities I 3- and 14. The straight portion:- l 2 0i element l 01sprovided with a rabbet it on the-underside ofthe element; portion l2 of'elenient' H has e; rabbet l5 on'the upper side of 'the element; Fig. 5a -fragmentary perspective 'de'tail of portions [2 of the" elements l0and H shbw ingrabbets H5- and It and the manner in which tlie" elementsare to" be" fitted together. Itwill be-n'otlr inF-igs; 5 am 6*that-five-ply wood;- is here used; the rabbets l t "and." I 6" areofequal dep ea'chextending fromthe normal surface planeof theel'e'm'erit to the n'ie'clian plane of the middleplyi- Thus when theelements hl and H; arentteu together" an x-shap'e'd platform,- as"showi-rrnos'tly fidotlidlirie'sfizi Fig. 2; is'provi'deduand 'both -itsupp'ejrand lower surfacesare flush; 111 the drawing the rabbets areassumed to cross is d'esi'red' ta be otherwise -than-shown. The legs ofthe chair frame are formed of the depending and slanting extremities ofthe elements Ill and H, extremities l3 being front legs, and extremities[4 being rear legs. The third element shown in Fig. 4, and designatedI1, is here adapted to serve both as a tie for the structure and as abracket or mount for a back rest to be applied to the frame. Element l'lcomprises a generally L-shaped piece of molded plywood having ahorizontal portion 18 adapted to be applied preferably to the undersideof the X-shaped platform provided by the crossed elements 10 and II, andso to function as a means for tying the structure together, as by meansof the screws l9 shown in Fig. 2, and to prevent any angular wobbling ofthe legs; and an upwardly extending and suitably curved portion 20 uponwhich a back rest may be mounted.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a chair comprising the frame of ,Figs. 1and 2, and, mounted thereon, a back rest 2| and a seat 22. The back rest2! may be secured to portion 20 of element ll as by screws; and the seat22 may similarly be secured to the upper surface of the X-shapedplatform. It is of course immaterial whether portion [8 of element ll beapplied to the top or the bottom of the X-shaped platform, for in eitherposition portion H3 serves the same purpose. However, it is convenientthat the portion 18 be secured to the bottom of the platform so that aflat bottom seat may be applied without special forming directly ontothe smooth upper surface of the platform However, the portion l8 may, ifdesired, be applied to the upper surface of the X-shaped platform. Andit will be readily understood that element I! may itself be designed toconstitute a tie member, a seat, and a back rest; such modificationmerely requires that the horizontal portion I81 be of suitable relativesize and be mounted on the upper side of the X-shaped platform; and thatthe upwardly extending portion 29 be sufficiently large and properlymolded to conform comfortably to the user.

Fig. 4 is particularly indicative of the spacesaving features of thebasic structure when knocked down, while Fig. 2 shows how simply thestructure may be locked together for use as an article of furniture.

The structure of the invention may be seen to have considerableflexibility as to design. Elements l and H may be of such ply widths andof such curvatures as desired, and element I! may be of various widthsand curvatures. Consequently, chairs of different appearance may befabricated by utilizing chair frames constructed according to theinvention. In the exemplary structure for a chair frame shown herein theelements It and H are seen to have extremities of equal length and slantso that the portions [2 of the elements are horizontal. However, ifdesired, elements having extremities or leg portions of differentlengths and slants may be substituted, as, for example, where it isdesired that the X-shaped platform be slanting, as from the front to therear of the chair frame. The rabbets l and it are shown, for example, inFig. 5 to be centrally located, as well as at 90 to the longitudinalaxes of the elements, resulting in the arrangement of legs seen in Fig.2. However, the rabbets may be provided 01f center and need not benormal to the longitudinal axes of the elements, as, for example, whereit is desired that the front legs of the chair frame be fartherseparated than the rear legs.

Simplicity of fabrication of the structural elements is anotheradvantage of the invention. Each element is a peripherally pre-shapedportion of plywood sheet permanently molded to produce fiatwise curvesof the plies where desired. Not only is molded plywood a strong, toughmaterial, but a certain amount of desira ble resilience is inherenttherein; thus a chair frame made according to the present invention hasadequate springiness to absorb normally expected shock both within thelegs and within the back rest mount, or portion such as 20 in element H.or course, a chair frame so constructed may be made more or less springyby varying the character of the plywood. While, in a structurecomprising crossed U-shaped elements fitted together by means ofengaging rabbets, the leg strength of the frame is not disturbed bysmall angular play within the rabbets, such playv is highly undesirable,and is completely eliminated by securing portion '8 of element I! to aflush surface of the x-shaped platform by means of at least four screwsor other suitable locking devices, one such screw or such deviceengaging each leg-forming element on both sides of its rabbet, as shownin Fig. 2. Moreover, the seat portion 22 as shown in Fig. 3 may beconstructed of lighter weight material than otherwise would be the case,for it need carry but little of the stresses when the chair is occupied;the frame itself; such as shown in Fig. 1, being sufficiently sturdy tocarry substantially all of the stresses.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention inthe use of such terms and expressions shown and described or portionsthereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possiblewithin the scope of invention claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A knock down chair frame which comprises two crossed U-shapedintegral members of molded plywood, each having a U-shaped longitudinalaxis, each of said U-shaped members consisting of more than three pliesof wood all r of which are molded together with the plies fiatwise andparallel with respect to each other and with respect to the U-shapedlongitudinal axis of said member and with the grain of each of the pliesof each U-shaped member lying lengthwise of said member; each of said U-shaped members having a straight flat intermediate portion and a curvedportion at each end of said intermediate portion and a straight taperedportion depending from each of said curved portions, said dependingstraight portions forming four outwardly slanting legs, the intermediateportion of one of said U- shaped members having a rabbet in the lowersurface of its said intermediate portion and the other of said U-shapedmembers having an oppositely disposed rabbet in the upper surface of itssaid intermediate portion, said rabbets being fitted together so thatsaid straight intermediate porticns form an X-shaped platform havingflush upper and lower surfaces which platform 15 supported by said fourlegs, all of the plies of said straight intermediate portions lyingparallel with said surfaces, another integral member of plywood moldedfiatwise with respect to the plies thereof and having a fiat portionengaging one of the surfaces of said platform and providing a tiemember, removable fastening means securing said tie member to saidcrossed straight intermediate portions of said U-shaped members andholding said three members rigidly secured together to prevent wobblingof said U-shaped members.

2. A knock down chair frame which comprises two crossed U-shapedintegral members of molded plywood, each having a U-shaped longitudinalaxis, each of said U-shaped members consisting of more than three pliesof wood all of which are molded together with the plies flatwise andparallel with respect to each other and with respect to the U-shapedlongitudinal axis of said member and with the grain of each of the pliesof each U-shaped member lying lengthwise of said member, each of said U-shaped members having a straight fiat intermediate portion and a curvedportion at each end of said intermediate portion and a straight taperedportion depending from each of said curved portions, said dependingstraight portions forming four outwardly slanting legs, the intermediateportion of one of said U- shaped members having a rabbet in the lowersurface of its said intermediate portion and the other of said U-shapedmembers having an oppositely disposed rabbet in the upper surface of itssaid intermediate portion, said rabbets being fitted together so thatsaid straight intermediate portions form an X-shaped platform havingflush upper and lower surfaces which platform is supported by said fourlegs, all of the plies of said straight intermediate portions lyingparallel with said surfaces, another integral member of plywood moldedfiatwise with respect to the plies thereof and having a flat portionengaging the under surface of said platform and providing a tie memberand having an upright portion forming a mount for a back-rest piece,removable screw means extending through the fiat portion of said tiemember into said crossed straight intermediate portions of said U-shapedmembers and holding said three members rigidly secured together toprevent wobbling of said U- shaped members.

3. A knock down chair frame which comprises two crossed U-shapedintegral members of molded plywood, each having a U-shaped longitudinalaxis, each of said U-shaped members consisting of more than three pliesof wood all of which are molded together with the plies fiatwise andparallel with respect to each other and with respect to the U-shapedlongitudinal axis of said member and with the grain of each of the pliesof each U-shaped member lying lengthwise of said member, each of saidU-shaped members having a straight fiat intermediate portion and acurved portion at each end of said intermediate portion and a straighttapered portion depending from each of said curved portions, saiddepending straight portions forming four outwardly slanting legs, theintermediate portion of one of said U-shaped members having a rabbet inthe lower surface of its said intermediate portion and the other of saidU-shaped members having an oppositely disposed rabbet in the uppersurface of its said intermediate portion, said rabbets being fittedtogether so that said straight intermediate portions form an X- shapedplatform having flush upper and lower surfaces which platform issupported by said four legs, all of the plies of said straightintermediate portions lying parallel with said surfaces, anotherintegral member of plywood molded flatwise with respect to the pliesthereof and having a fiat portion engaging the lower surface of saidplatform and providing a tie member, and having an upright portionforming a mount for a back-rest piece, removable screw means extendingthrough the flat portion of said tie member into said crossed straightintermediate portions of said U-shaped members and holding said threemembers rigidly secured together to prevent wobbling of said U-shapedmembers, a seat piece resting upon and removably secured to saidplatform and a back-rest piece removably secured to said mount.

NORMAN M. KREIZELMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,230,545 Wanner June 19, 1917 2,077,770 Provisor Apr. 20,1937 2,439,322 Thaden Apr. 6, 1948 2,554,490 Eames May 29, 19512,628,668 Basile Feb. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date822,128 France Sept. 13, 1937 OTHER REFERENCES Home Craftsman Magazine,pages 16-17,

J an.-Feb. 1950.

